#blurau

Graham sat mindlessly staring at the screen that lay stagnant before him. His eyes wandered around, following the cursor. He adjusted his glasses, sniffling as he clicked on the same profile he kept pinned on his browser.

Her.

The girl he had been crushing on since the first time he lay eyes on her in their first year of high school. He had tugged on Damon’s football jersey, pointing at her, aimlessly muttering praises. “Spectacular,” “Heaven sent,” “Gorgeous,”. It wasn’t like him to use such ardent adjectives when describing a girl. No, Graham wasn’t exactly the ladies man that Damon was. Hell, Damon thought he was gay for the longest time.

But here he was, practically drooling at the sight of the girl that he didn’t dare to use “fit” on. Far too brash, that compliment was. It didn’t fit the stripey V-neck sweater he wore atop his gingham button up. It didn’t fit the freshly ironed chino’s and brushed black boots. It simply wasn’t like him.

Just like how it wasn’t like him to aimlessly click the add button. His cursor would hover over the button almost once or twice a day before he would stand up, hiding his face in his hands as he cursed under his breath. “She’d block me,” or “She’d never accept it,”

He’d pace around his room, playing wanton love songs like he was a poet on strike. A poet that couldn’t click that damn button to just add her.

She was beloved amongst their cohort. Her smile was contagious, her laugh addictive. The way her hair would cascade flawlessly, the way her eyes glistened as the sun kissed her face. She was, in his words, magnificent.

Damon had known of his crush on her for years, constantly pushing him to ask her out, to write her a love letter. Or better yet, invite her to the school production then maybe go in for a cheeky kiss at the venue.

Graham refused all forms of confession. Saying it wouldn’t work out, and that she wouldn’t reciprocate. His heart could only take so much, it seemed. And Damon was aware of the fragility that Graham imposed upon himself. It wasn’t his responsibility to aid in garnering any form of change, but Damon always felt responsible for Graham. It’s just how their friendship worked.

Damon came around later that Saturday afternoon. He had messaged Graham over MySpace mentioning the importance of rehearsing their lines at least once a day. He had agreed to that message in the morning, slotting in a meet up at Graham’s house at around 2 pm.

It was now 2 pm, meaning Graham had been pacing around his room with her profile stuck on the computer for 2 hours straight. Damon had appeared, barging through the door with their worn-out scripts in the form of a booklet. Their names written on the front with an inky blue pen.

“Mate, how long have you been like this?” Damon spoke up, his arms crossed. He had just come from football practice, sweat clinging to his skin as his football jersey stunk.

Graham snapped out of the trance of walking in circles around his room, his head snapping to where Damon’s voice had come from. He only sighed, closing his eyes as he let out a strangled groan. “That doesn’t matter…” He huffed, taking a seat on the edge of his neat bed. He hid his face in his hands, resting his elbows atop his knees. Damon placed a hand on his shoulder, gripping tightly. “How many times have I gotta tell ya? She’s one click away from being friends with’cha,” Damon sighed, shaking his head.

He looked up at the screen, noticing the cursor hovering the add button. She had recently changed her photo to another mirror selfie with one of her best friends at a party. Something Graham noticed immediately. A new song added to her playlist, a new blog post, a new update. He was always there to see it but couldn’t bring himself to interact with. He wiped his face with both hands, nudging his glasses upwards as he huffed. “It’s not that simple, Day,” He huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he looked up at Damon with a fervent look of frustration. His hands splayed out in defiance.

“I mean, I could just click it right now,” Damon smirked. “Don’t you da-“ Damon pushed him down, sending his back to crash with the soft mattress beneath him. Graham let out a soft ‘oof’ as his backside made contact. Damon rushed to his computer, his hands gripping onto the mouse. “Damon!” Graham bellowed, rushing to reach the computer at the highest speed he could muster.

Damon lifted a finger, stopping his best friend in his tracks. Graham heaved slightly, feeling sweat form beads against his temples. “Damon, please. Don’t do it,” He whimpered, clasping his hands together, his knees beckoning to slam onto the carpeted floor. Damon shushed him, wagging his finger. “I’m fulfilling my intended purpose as your best mate, Graham. You’ve been at this for years, and this bird ain’t gonna add herself,” He let go of the mouse, forming his hand into a clasped fist with his index pointed, slowly reaching the button. Graham dared to inch further, vibrating in absolute horror. “Damon! Please, I just can’t!” He exclaimed, closing his eyes shut. He sat down on the floor, hiding his face in his knees. His hands clasped onto the top of his head. The blonde frowned, feeling the guilt pool in his stomach. He let out a soft sigh, shaking his head with his eyelids fluttering closed. “Graham…” He started, his voice warm and soft. “What will it take to stop you from being such a… You know…” He trailed off, biting his lip to refrain from hurting him further. “You’re like a stalker at this point,” He admitted. Graham looked up at him, his eyes glazed. “I’m not trying to be!” Graham spluttered out, groaning as his fists began to bang against the top of his head. Damon gripped onto his wrist, holding him back. He let go once Graham’s resistance faltered. Damon sighed again. “What will it take to get you to interact with her, huh?” Damon coaxed, tapping his chin as he looked up at the pale ceiling. Graham shrugged, shaking his head as he scratched the back of his neck, leaving a slight red mark. “I don’t fuckin’ know,” He grumbled, slotting his head in between his knees. He was pouting now, sniffling to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill out. Damon noticed this, frowning slightly as he placed his palm on the top of Graham’s head. He let out a soft chuckle, knowing just how ridiculous Graham was when he was passionate about something.

That’s when it hit him.

Damon let go of Graham’s head, sticking his finger up with an expectant grin.  

“I’ve got it, Grams!” He stood up, kneeling over to encase Graham’s face in between each hand. He clasped his cheeks, leaning in close. “You can message her on my account!’’

“Play it cool, Graham, just click it…” He whispered to himself, biting his nail with the other hovering the mouse. “Stop fuckin’ talking to yourself, you knob,” Damon nagged, smacking him on the back of his head. Graham moaned out a small ‘ow’, his hand clasping the area that had just then been targeted.

“I’m nervous, man! You can’t blame me…” Graham muttered, biting harder on his nail. “It’s not even your account!” Damon snarled. “You fuckin’ know what-“ Damon moved Graham out of the way, instantly clicking onto the ‘Add-Friend’ button which now said “Requested”. Graham gasped in shock, jumping out of the chair as he lunged onto his bed, curling into foetal position, shuddering. Damon barked out a laugh, holding his stomach as he bent over. “You’re a right mess, Gray,” He managed to choke out through fits of laughter. Graham held onto his blanket, gripping tightly.

He stuffed a pillow into his mouth as he screamed, the coil of embarrassment fluttering in his stomach. It radiated throughout his entire body. It wasn’t even his account.

At the back of his mind, Damon itched to learn his lines with Graham, but this was far better entertainment. It wasn’t news to anyone that the school production meant the world to Damon. Hell, people believed that it meant more to him than winning the finals.

Damon wasn’t an avid user of MySpace or any sort of social media. He spent most of his time playing the piano, the guitar, practicing football and learning his lines in the school productions that were hosted every year. It was actually Graham that helped him set up his Myspace profile, soon receiving multiple friend requests the moment it was made live. It wasn’t a surprise to Graham that Damon would receive so many so fast. He was the school’s heartthrob. The boy that every girl wanted under their sheets since the break of dawn. Shaggy, dirty blonde hair, a carefree attitude, and the captain of the school’s football team? Yeah, sign every man and woman up immediately.

Damon began scrolling through her profile. He clicked on her links and checked out her blog posts. His chin rested on his hand, a finger caressing it slightly. He had an elbow propped up on the desk whilst his other finger was scrolling and clicking. He soon began to notice just how active she was.

“math homework…. epic fail,”

Attached was a photo of her face, half concealed. She had a big grin plastered onto her face. Behind her was the math homework they had been assigned before. Her desk looked as if a hurricane had passed through. Pencils, sheets of ripped paper and rubber shavings had been sprawled everywhere. Her gridded paper had a hole right through it, implying that she had rubbed out an answer so many times it broke the thin sheet.

Damon let out a soft chuckle at that. Then, click.

“go team essex!”

Attached was a photo of someone snapping a shot of her in the team’s scarves, beanie and jacket with her fist raised in the air. Her mouth was wide open, seemingly screaming with her brows knit together.

Damon didn’t realize she was there. He had made a post about that before on the same day, something about winning the game by a landslide with a score of 4 v 1. Damon’s eyes trailed each pixel on the slightly bulged square shape monitor, taking in each one of her posts. He didn’t realize the amused grin that had formed onto his lips as he rubbed his chin. She was funny. Like, genuinely funny.

Graham finally sat up, rubbing his eyes as he walked over. He leant over Damon’s shoulder. He pointed at one post. “She was there, ya know,” He pointed at the finals game, the blog post she had made with the several photos of her and her friends amid screaming. Damon nodded, humming slightly as if he hadn’t seen it before.

“Zoom in on this photo,” Graham instructed, pointing again. Damon clicked on it, having to look down at the keyboard to click the right keys. He squinted slightly as he zoomed in. “Is that you?” Damon questioned, earning a small ‘Mhm’ from Graham. “Well mate, you made it! You might as well make it your wedding photo,” Damon turned around, smirking. Graham scoffed, crossing his arms. “Don’t be ridiculous, I’m lucky to even be able to not spontaneously combust with her near me,” Graham admitted, rolling his eyes. Damon’s eyebrows momentarily lifted with a slight grimace. He turned around again, scrolling through her page till a notification appeared on the top right. “Oh, shit. She’s accepted me!” Damon exclaimed. In one swift movement, Graham advanced his face to the screen, looming dangerously close at the notification. Damon had to move back slowly to not get hit in the crossfire of the adamant movements of his best friend. “Jesus, Gray. You could slow down a bit,” Damon joked. Graham remained silent, slowly moving back. He stood still for a moment, a thumb in his mouth as he clawed his way through millions of thoughts on how to go about the accomplishment. Damon stared at him, a brow raised. “Mate just… Message her. I don’t mind what you say just don’t be weird or somethin,” He shrugged, his hand hovered over the mouse as he clicked on her profile again. Graham’s eyes glistened at “Friends”. He felt his heart flutter. He was just one step away from taking the leap of faith. “Wait, wait we have to think, Damon,” Graham protested, biting down on his thumb with hesitance. “Graham. We added her. Don’t you think we should message her first?” Damon reasoned, resting his elbow onto the desk with his torso twisted slightly to face Graham. “Maybe… I don’t know! I’ve never gotten to this point…” He admitted, sighing in defeat. Damon only huffed out a small laugh, shaking his head. Then, a familiar sound shot through from Graham’s blown out speakers. Both heads darted back to face the screen. xyour//nx: fancy seeing u adding me damon… lulz…